SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
To say these are important weeks for AEW is an understatement. The product has been very hit and miss (pun intended) over the past couple of months and they are in desperate need of something to keep fan interest as they approach Full Gear. The matches they give you week in and week out are mostly great, but that is not translating to higher ratings and better attendance. If they continue with the status quo, they are going to be in more trouble as the weeks go by. This episode of Dynamite looks good on paper, but my hope is they do something that will get their fans talking… a spark if you will. (Try reading that in Dusty’s voice… just for fun!) Let’s see how they did.
HITS
AN OPENING RECAP!
Well, what do you know?! What a great way to open the show with recaps of last week’s main events on Dynamite and Collision. Not only were they well produced, they allowed the fans who missed the matches a chance to see what they missed. It also set up what was to come on this week’s show. What a concept. Better late than never, but this was well done. I’d love to see more of it.
SERIOUS MJF WITH SERIOUS ADAM COLE AT THE START OF THE SHOW
Who knows what kind of plans were changed due to Adam Cole’s injury, but what a welcome sight to see Cole in a segment that wasn’t complete nonsense. He quickly rebuffed Roddy Strong as well. Is this fool’s gold and they’ll go right back to the “dumb” next week, or was this a welcome new direction… and… by the end of the show… (see below)
JON MOXLEY
I can watch Jon Moxley promos all day. He is the best in the business right now when it comes to old-school intensity. His 90 seconds of talking was all it took for me to be fired up to watch his rematch with Orange Cassidy at Full Gear.
NO MORE B.S.
Before you say it, I know the last time we saw Paul Wight he was in a dumb skit with Adam Cole and MJF, but I’m going to pretend that never happened. You know, kind of like “Beverly Hills Cop 3,” the “Matrix” sequels, and the “Night Court” reboot. (Yes, I’m old). I think a street fight with Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, and Paul Wight vs. The Callis family will be a fun watch. Extra points in this segment goes to Kyle Fletcher who sold that punch by Wight like a freakin’ champ!
MISSES
ATTENTION TO DETAIL — SWERVE & HANGMAN
Once again, a big angle from a week earlier gets glossed over in the introduction to a match. How difficult would it have been to show a clip from last week’s Swerve Strickland home invasion so viewers could understand the anger from “Hangman” Page and why he left the ring to attack Swerve? It was vaguely mentioned at the start, leaving Tazz trying to save it, and that robbed the segment of being as good as it could have been.
On a side note, the Young Bucks seemed lost as characters though I was hoping the temper tantrum led to something new with them. Seems like a fire of some sort has been lit and the backstage promo with Jericho and Omega was a good start that something interesting is on the horizon with them.
COPELAND AND CHRISTIAN TOUCH
I was ready to applaud the segment as a nice bounce-back for Adam Copeland getting back some of his fire and stop whining about things, but I totally disagree with them touching in this segment. I know it was a quick spear and it set up the match at Full Gear, but keeping the two away from each other physically was a good idea and it’s a shame they could not help themselves doing it earlier than I think it should have been done.
TONY’S ANNOUNCEMENT
Let me get this straight. Tony’s gift to all wrestling fans is the opportunity to buy expensive tickets to another show in England ten months from now? Considering the situation the company is in right now, I think it’s rather tone deaf to make this a “big announcement,” especially when Tony already made it clear a couple months ago that they were returning to London in 2024. On a positive note, Tony does look a lot more comfortable on camera these days, though I’d avoid the “jokes” about his parents and their Christmas tree.
MJF WITH THE ACCLAIMED
…and they ruin the serious tone of the WORLD CHAMPION by putting him in a joke of an outfit and have him teaming in a serious match against his current top rival with the “comedy” group. I don’t mind the Acclaimed most of the time, but they should not be anywhere near this World Title feud. I understand the story they are trying to tell, but if AEW is going to go back to what they once were, this is not the way it’s going to do it.
It’s not often I come out of a Dynamite with a negative feeling, but I did. This show had some nice moments and some things I really liked, but the word I would use to describe the company right now is “disjointed.” They are all over the place. This is not the type of show that’s going to turn things around. I fear Tony Khan thinks everything is fine, but how can you with diminishing ratings and attendance? I still like this product better than anything else out there right now, but I’m worried it may not rebound as quickly as I’d hoped. There’s always next week!
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Powell’s AEW Dynamite Hit List: Orange Cassidy vs. Claudio Castagnoli for the AEW International Title, Hikaru Shida vs. Willow Nightingale for the AEW Women’s Title, Tony Khan’s announcement
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